Learning List has reviewed W.W. Norton’s Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: From the Beginnings of Humankind to the Present, AP Edition. Worlds Together, Worlds Apart is a comprehensive product to support instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) World History courses. Resources are available in print and eBook formats. Instruction is thematic and addresses the movement of goods, people, and ideas and religious, political, and cultural exchanges.
Content is organized chronologically in 21 chapters that begin with origins of humanity and conclude with an epilogue addressing contemporary events. Four central themes are interwoven throughout chapters: (1) trade and cultural exchange, (2) transformations and conflict, (3) shifts in power, and (4) the role of gender and environment in shaping history. Each chapter opens with a set of “Before You Read This Chapter” notes that include learning objectives, new vocabulary, and a set of “Global Storylines” that frame the context for content.
Vivid visual elements, such as maps, artwork, and photographs, are interspersed throughout the text and include clear captions that explain their significance. Margins contain flags that alert students to content related to learning objectives. Instruction includes “Current Trends in World History” and “Analyzing Global Developments” features that present historical data and recent research in world history. Each chapter includes a “Going to the Source” feature that presents a set of five to seven primary source documents that address one of the chapter’s themes (e.g., Religion and Change in the Nineteenth Century). A set of “Analysis Questions” guides students’ interpretation, analysis, and comparison of the documents and prepares them to respond to a “Long Essay Question.”
About W.W. Norton*
Now, in its 90th year and with an annual list of 400 titles, W. W. Norton is a global company, its familiar seagull logo appearing on books in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Latin America. Though the Norton of today is international in scope, there is much about the company that would remain recognizable to its founders: the editorial quality of the books, the rigorously anti-corporate style, and above all the shared sense of purpose that flourishes when all employees have a stake in the success of their firm.
Information in this section is provided by or adapted from W.W. Norton.
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